We know, we know, predicting things in golf is absolutely impossible, but the interesting nature of match play has us thinking ahead. What are the best possible matches that COULD happen this week at the Accenture? These are our favorite possible matchups.

Nick Watney vs. Tiger Woods (second round) -- Any match Tiger is in will be featured, but I’d love see a player like Watney go up against him Tiger in a fairly even match.

Graeme McDowell vs. Hunter Mahan (second round) -- I’m fairly certain Mahan would love a piece of McDowell in match player after what happened at the 2010 Ryder Cup, and it would be the featured round of Thursday.

Sergio Garcia vs. Keegan Bradley (second round) -- I’d like this just for the pre-match ceremony where Garcia hands over the “Incredibly Long Pre-Shot Gold Medal.” He’s held it for so many years!

Adam Scott vs. Dustin Johnson (third round) -- I just like the idea of zero University of Arizona girls going to class on Friday so they can head out and see Mr. Scott vs. Mr. Johnson.

Rory McIlroy vs. Sergio Garcia (third round) -- Probably the best chance for McIlroy to get upset out of his bracket, Garcia is headed in playing some seriously good golf, and two of the bigger names in the game would bring tons of attention to the Gary Player bracket.

Martin Kaymer vs. Bubba Watson (third round) -- I think just about everyone would be excited to see this rematch of the 2011 semi-finals, just as long as Kaymer leaves the scarf at home.

Rory McIlroy vs. Jason Day (quarter-finals) -- I have a feeling this will happen, and I’m absolutely jazzed about it.

Ben Crane vs. Kevin Na (quarter-finals) -- Can an entire match be put on the clock? Can even the guy putting people on the clock be put on the clock? No chance this isn't the final match of the day. It has to be!

Rory McIlroy vs. Tiger Woods (semi-finals) -- Do I really need to explain why this would be awesome?

Luke Donald vs. Tiger Woods (finals) -- Because I’d really like to see Tiger get his first win in something like this, over a bunch of big names, the last being the world number one. I think that would really show just where he is with his golf game, and give the guy about a 400 percent boost, confidence-wise.

While many in the States were sleeping, the pairings for the first day of play at the Presidents Cup were issued, and event organizers are hardly taking the high road when it comes to controversial matchmaking, or gleaning every ounce of juice they might generate.

Not quite two weeks after caddie Steve Williams used a racial term to describe part of former boss Tiger Woods’ anatomy, Woods and Williams’ new boss, Adam Scott, were placed in the final opening-day foursome off the tee as matches begin Thursday in Australia.

After organizers at last week’s Aussie Open declined to pair Scott and Woods, the two captains at the PrezCup wasted no time in putting the pair together, sending them out last on the first day of matches. Reaction was swift.

*The PGA Tour, which runs the event, took no disciplinary action against Williams for uttering the perceived racial slur, but isn’t above using any tension with Woods to hype the event? Nice. Hypocrisy take a 1-up lead.

*Secondly, Woods was a highly controversial selection to the U.S. team to begin with – two-time winner Keegan Bradley, the only Yank to win a major this year, was passed over -- and the tour is clearly milking Woods for all he’s worth.

*If you had forgotten that this is an exhibition, consider yourself reminded. The Aussie Open didn’t pair Woods and Scott because it would have been disruptive to the tournament proper.

*But the Presidents Cup is a soap opera, not a real tournament, and not above pandering to draw eyeballs in a time zone 16 hours away from the U.S. eastern time zone. In fact, this thing looks more like pro wrestling that professional golf. Maybe the Rock ought to be tapped as a future assistant captain, not Michael Jordan.

*Despite some misdirection from U.S. captain Fred Couples --or maybe he was just a mite confused, as usual -- Woods was indeed paired with Steve Stricker in the opening matches. The duo has been hugely successful in 2009 and 2010 as dance partners and Woods was 5-0 at the Presidents Cup two years ago in San Francisco. Yeah, we're sure you're as shocked as we are.

At 2 a.m. ET, the tour announced that the 2015 Presidents Cup would be staged at an undetermined in golf-crazed South Korea, which represents a savvy move. The Ryder Cup, the granddaddy of all international matches, isn’t held outside the U.K. or the United States, and the decision to stage the PrezCup in Asia for the first time is shrewd for a variety of reasons.

The European Tour has a better grip on Asian markets already, co-sanctioning several events with other tours, and this will insinuate the PGA Tour into more homes and markets. Not to mention that this year’s International team at Royal Melbourne has three Koreans on the roster.

In an unrelated note, yet one that will generate plenty of chatter going forward, it was announced Wednesday that Woods will skip playing the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines in January in order to play for pay at the European Tour event the same week in Abu Dhabi.

Woods has won seven tournaments at Torrey and only once has finished outside the top 10 – last year. The blowback will be at least two-fold: Woods will get ripped for blowing off his most successful venue for a payday, and speculation will heighten about where he will play on the West Coast instead, be it at Pebble Beach, Riviera or wherever.

Woods frequently played the Dubai event in the EuroTour's Desert Swing, but his contract expired this year, and he was fined for spitting on a green in the final round. Interestingly, the Abu Dhabi event is run by IMG, Woods' former managament agency.

Though he hasn't won anywhere in over two years, Woods reportedly commands a $2 million appearance fee, the top figure in the game.

Based on what just happened at the Presidents Cup, what are the odds that Woods will be "drawn" with Rory McIlroy over the first two days?

Warm up those eyebrows, people, because there's plenty of wattage in the sarcasm meter these days.

The incredible paradox of their personalities would be funny if it weren’t so outrageous, not to mention increasingly uncomfortable.

Australian star Adam Scott, universally regarded as one of the classiest acts in the game, employs a caddie who has come to be defined by his arrogance, ego, venom and vitriol.

At least, he employs him for now.

Again dragged into the mud by caddie Steve Williams’ crass remarks about former boss Tiger Woods, Scott is faced with a decision as the most important fortnight of his year approaches.

Over the next two weeks, with the eyes of his countrymen focused on him, Scott will play in the Australian Open and Presidents Cup. In both instances, there’s a decent chance he will be paired with Woods, who used Williams as his caddie from 1999 to 2011, which included wins in 13 major championships.

To muster some Stevie-style lingo here, Scott will be accompanied by a caddie who has turned from an asset into an ass, not to mention a growing liability.

In the midst of rebuilding his career, Scott, 31, once again has been rendered as collateral damage as the caddie continues to lash out at his former boss, whom he first savaged in mid-August after Scott won the Bridgestone Invitational with Woods in the field.

On Friday night in Shanghai, at a tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony for caddies that was supposed to be an off-the-record affair, Williams was presented with a mock “best caddie celebration” award for his post-Bridgestone diatribe regarding Woods.

Williams told the audience in Shanghai, “My aim was to shove it right up that black arse----.”

Time to shove off, Stevie. Frankly, Scott’s next exchange with Williams at the HSBC on Saturday should be: “What’s the yardage to the clubhouse from here? Good. Start walking, mate.”

In fact, the PGA and European tours ought to bench Williams for the rest of the year, at minimum. The tours have the authority, and pejorative comments offered before a room packed with dozens of guests, including a handful of players, have no place in a sport with such an abysmal record on race.

Williams’ comments first saw light when a caddie in attendance recounted to writers from a couple of U.K. publications who were not present. The rollicking awards event was held at the upscale Le Meridien Sheshan hotel.

Hours later, Williams began to understand the impact of his comments and posted an apology on his website, including this passage: "I now realize how my comments could be construed as racist."

How could they not be? According to reports, several in the hotel ballroom collectively gasped at Williams' failed attempt at humor. However you feel about Woods, that comment is so far out of line, it’s not close to funny.

For years, Williams has displayed as much finesse as one of those thunderous Australian road trains. This is hardly a first offense, is it? Three years ago, again speaking publicly and too clueless to understand that the world population is armed with camera phones, Williams ripped longtime Woods rival Phil Mickelson and said, “I hate the p----.”

As ever, PGA Tour communications chief Ty Votaw on Saturday offered no illumination relating to possible pending disciplinary action: “We will have no comment publicly on this matter. The tour does have the ability to discipline caddies of its members.”

Later Saturday, Votaw followed up thusly, implying some action might be forthcoming: "By the way, the fact that we don't have a comment on this at this time, that does not mean we will not have one in the future. Just wanted to make that clarification."

Scott shouldn't wait for the tour to do his dirty work for him.

So far, the world No. 8 said he is satisfied with Williams’ apology and had no plans to fire him, but he might want to reconsider when the issue comes up, again and again, over the next couple of weeks in Australia.

"Steve issued a statement and apologized and did the right thing," Scott told reporters. "That's all there is to say about that from my side of things. I disagree that he should be sacked. I think everything in that room last night was all in good spirits and bit of fun and I think it probably got taken out of that room in the wrong context."

That's hugely disappointing. You can bet he'll hear about it soon enough from along the gallery ropes, too. It would already have been uncomfortable enough playing alongside Woods, given the back story. Aussie Open officials are expected to formally release pairings Tuesday, but many believed even before Williams’s off-color comment in China that a Woods-Scott dance card is a no-brainer that will boost ticket sales and interest.

Well, with Williams in tow for the walk, no-brainer is the perfect term. If the caddie mantra is “show up, keep up, shut up,” he’s only got a rudimentary grasp of the last part. This is one pit bull who needs a muzzle.

Williams obviously remains bitter about the way he was sacked four months ago after spending months waiting for the fading former world No. 1 to clean up his personal life. He’s got a point. After all those wins, most believe that Williams deserved better from Woods.

But the way the caddie has handled himself has turned him from a sympathetic figure into a megalomaniacal, classless jerk.

In the immediate aftermath, he told a Kiwi news outlet: “You could say I’ve wasted the last two years of my life. I’ve stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal. I’m not disappointed I’ve been fired – that’s part of the job – but the timing is extraordinary.

“I, along with a lot of people, lost a lot of respect for Tiger and I pointed out before his return at the Masters in 2010 that he had to earn back my respect. Through time I hope he can gain my respect back.”

Fair enough. Then he offered an opera-singer solo – warbling an a cappella string of me, me, me -- on CBS after Scott won at Bridgestone, and continued for another 10 minutes off camera, affectively calling Woods a liar and disputing the player’s characterization of how the firing was handled.

A week after Scott won at Bridgestone, revitalizing his career, Williams was half-jokingly asked after the first round of the PGA Championship if he had anything more to say.

Bag slung over his shoulder as Scott signed his scorecard inside the recorder’s office, he never stopped walking, but couldn’t resist taking another shot as he ambled away.

“At least somebody around here would be telling the truth,” Williams said, a remark clearly aimed at the Woods camp.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- If you thought the first question asked of Adam Scott on Tuesday would relate to a certain somebody who stole the limelight on Sunday night, you were exactly right.

Only a level-headed lad like Scott could have handled it so well.

Scott, practicing for the 93rd PGA Championship, hadn’t been in the media center for more than 60 seconds when the topic of lightning-rod caddie Steve Williams was broached -- nevermind the fact that he won one of the biggest events of the year less than 48 hours earlier and is a clear favorite this week, too.

Query: Have you ever won a golf tournament where your caddie got more coverage?

"No is the answer to that question," Scott smiled.

For at least another 24 hours, that likely will remain the case. Scott led from wire to wire last week in beating the best players in the world at the Bridgestone Invitational, though his caddie hijacked the celebration afterward when he took a few poorly disguised swipes at his former employer, Tiger Woods.

Some PGA Tour players might have axed their bagmen for making such uncomplimentary comments or coming across as an egomaniac, but Scott defended his new bagman's comments as heat-of-the-moment stuff.

"I kind of think it's been blown out of proportion, unsurprisingly kind of, but you know, I guess it's newsworthy stuff," he said. "You know, Steve was obviously delighted to win, as was I, and speaking with a bit of emotion, probably."

Probably? Who knew the guy had so much to offer? He said more in 10 minutes of post-round interviews than he had in the previous 12 years working alongside Woods. He like a guard dog that not only had been unleashed, but un-muzzled.

Scott has been an unwitting, undeserving victim, caught in the soap-opera crossfire. But he's handled it with the characteristic dignity that fans have comne to expect from him.

"I certainly don't think that was his intention to steal my moment at all," Scott said. "But he was asked these questions and he gave his honest answer, I assume, and with a lot of things to do with anything related to Tiger Woods, it's all scrutinized and blown out of proportion a lot of the time I think.

"So this is no different. He said that was not his intention at all to do that. But he was asked a question, and he gave an honest answer. So I said, that's fair enough. Hopefully we'll just go and let our clubs do the talking for the rest of the week now."

Doubtful. Woods is due to speak to the press on Wednesday and it's surely a topic that will be broached, perhaps with the first query as well.

Scott said he spoke with Williams, 47, about the issue and said his piece. He even made a joke about the timbre of the discussion, in fact.

"Having a quiet word with Steve is not very easy," he said of the former rugby player, drawing laughs. "He's a big guy, you know. We've had our chat about the whole thing, and he feels the way he feels. I just took what he said, again, as confidence for me. If he really feels that that was one of his great wins, then you know, I'm kind of flattered and it fills me with confidence, and I think that's what his intention is, to be honest.

"He was really excited to win. Obviously he had not won for a little while, and for him, he's really passionate about it, and that's what I see. And when you're passionate and in that situation, you know, I think it all got a little out of hand, but we'll just go on from there.

"Hopefully, like I said, we'll let our clubs do the talking for the rest of this week."

Williams admitted to FoxSports.com that he went too far in his comments, which were not well-received and came across as arrogant, petty and catty.

“Looking back on it, I was a bit over the top,” he said. "I had a lot of anger in me about what happened [being terminated by Woods] and it all came out.”

Williams termed the victory with Scott as the "most satisfying" of his 33-year caddying career, which included 13 major titles won alongside Woods and tours with Greg Norman and Ray Floyd, current or future Hall of Famers, all. Williams indicated to Fox Sports that he's through talking about Woods, his boss for the past 12 years.

“I said what I said, but I’m not going to say any more about Tiger,” he said.

<p>JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- If you thought the first question asked of Adam Scott on Tuesday would relate to a certain somebody who stole the limelight on Sunday night, you were exactly right.</p>

<p>Only a level-headed lad like Scott could have handled it so well.</p>

<p>Scott, practicing for the 93rd PGA Championship, hadn’t been in the media center for more than 60 seconds when the topic of lightning-rod caddie Steve Williams was broached. Nevermind that Scott won one of the biggest events of the year less than 48 hours earlier.<br /> <br />Query: Have you ever won a golf tournament where your caddie got more coverage?</p>

<p>"No is the answer to that question," Scott smiled.<br /><br />For at least another 24 hours, that likely will remain the case. Scott led from wire to wire last week in beating the best players in the world at the Bridgestone Invitational, though his caddie hijacked the celebration afterward when he took a few poorly disguised swipes at his former employer, Tiger Woods.<br /><br />Some PGA Tour players might have axed their bagmen for making such uncomplimentary comments or coming across as an egomaniac, but Scott defended his new bagman's comments as heat-of-the-moment stuff.<br /><br />"I kind of think it's been blown out of proportion, unsurprisingly kind of, but you know, I guess it's newsworthy stuff. I don't know.</p>

<p>"You know, Steve was obviously delighted to win, as was I, and speaking with a bit of emotion probably."</p>

<p>Probably? Who knew the guy had so much to offer? He said more in 10 minutes of post-round interviews than he had in the previous 12 years working alongside Woods. He like a guard dog that not only had been unleashed, but un-muzzled. Whether it was a calculated attack or completely spontaneous, Williams has been shredded in the court of public opinion.</p>

<p>"I certainly don't think that was his intention to steal my moment at all," Scott said. "But he was asked these questions and he gave his honest answer, I assume, and with a lot of things to do with anything related to Tiger Woods, it's all scrutinized and blown out of proportion a lot of the time I think.</p>

<p>"So this is no different. He said that was not his intention at all to do that. But he was asked a question, and he gave an honest answer. So I said, that's fair enough. Hopefully we'll just go and let our clubs do the talking for the rest of the week now."</p>

<p>Doubtful. Woods isn't due to speak to the press on Wednesday and it's surely a topic that will be broached, perhaps with the first query as well. Scott said he spoke with Williams, 47, about the issue and said his piece. He made a joke of the discussion, in fact.<br /><br />"Having a quiet word with Steve is not very easy," he said of the former rugby player. "He's a big guy, you know. We've had our chat about the whole thing, and he feels the way he feels. I just took what he said, again, as confidence for me. If he really feels that that was one of his great wins, then you know, I'm kind of flattered and it fills me with confidence, and I think that's what his intention is, to be honest.<br /><br />"He was really excited to win. Obviously he had not won for a little while, and for him, he's really passionate about it, and that's what I see. And when you're passionate and in that situation, you know, I think it all got a little out of hand, but we'll just go on from there. </p>

<p>"Hopefully, like I said, we'll let our clubs do the talking for the rest of this week."<br /><br />Williams admitted to FoxSports.com that he went too far in his comments, which sounded arrogant, petty and catty.</p>

<p>“Looking back on it, I was a bit over the top,” Williams told the website. "I had a lot of anger in me about what happened [being terminated by Woods] and it all came out.”</p>

<p>Williams several times termed the victory with Scott as the "most satisfying" of his 33-year caddying career, which included 13 major titles won alongside Woods and tours with Greg Norman and Ray Floyd, current or future Hall of Famers, all. Williams indicated to Fox Sports that he's through talking about Woods, his boss for the past 12 years.</p>

<p> “I said what I said, but I’m not going to say any more about Tiger,” he said.</p>

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Justin Rose is the defending champ at the Memorial Tournament this week, and no matter what he does with his clubs, he has already claimed a victory of sorts.

He has produced the biggest laugh of tournament week.

Rose, an Englishman who has a sneaky sense of humor, earlier this year issued what is roundly considered the funniest Tweet ever written by a professional tour player when he took a picture of the heavily bearded Lucas Glover, who won the National Open two years ago.

Along with the photo, Rose added the Tweet, "Winning the U.S. Open -- so simple, even a caveman can do it."

He had his followers laughing out loud on Thursday, too, when he Tweeted that a waiter in a Columbus restaurant had been calling him Mr. Scott all night, confusing Rose for rakishly handsome Aussie Adam Scott.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Adam Scott had pieced together a solid, steady, and under the circumstances, superlative round.

The winds were howling, scores were soaring, and yet he was level par for the day as he stood on the first tee of the three-hole stretch called the Bear Trap.

Forty-five minutes later, he was licking his wounds and running low on golf balls.

Scott hit three balls in the water on the fateful back-nine stretch, named in honor of the guy who handled the course redesign a few years ago, Jack Nicklaus. For the 30-year-old Aussie, it all began to unravel when he ballooned his 4-iron tee shot on the par-3 15th into the water. His next shot, a 9-iron from the penalty drop zone, got caught in a gust of wind and also resulted in a splashdown.

By the time he cleaned up the double-dunk mess, he'd made a quintuple-bogey 8. Two holes later, on the equally dicey par-3 17th, he dunked another 4-iron and made a double-bogey.

Scott finished with a 7-over 77, meaning all the carnage came on the Bear Trap par-3 holes.

"That’s what happens," Scott said. "That’s what those holes are all about, I guess."